Better Off Dead (1985)

5/10 

 Better off not watching this film. It's hard to really like this film when you can't stand the protagonist

What redeems this film is the weird/crazy/wacky/quirky/bizarre group of supporting characters.

John Cusack's character Lane Meyer, is a spoiled teen who can't seem to be relied on and is overly obsessed over Beth, a girl who doesn't really have much personality but somehow everyone likes her...reminds me of Bella from a movie saga that must-not-be-named.

This film wanted to be one bizarre/hilarious/fun adventure but it just ended up skimming the surface of all these categories. Better Off Dead tried but it just didn't succeed in my books. I much prefer Teen wolf or Breakfast Club or Back to the Future or or Honey I Shrank the Kids. This flick just didn't have any deeper meaning to it, and the comedic element it wasn't there.

Rogue (2007)

5/10

Its bark scarier than its bite

plot: An American journalist on assignment in the Australian outback encounters a man-eating crocodile.

It is a very mundane creature feature, not much in storyline or in graphics. BUT it does have some amazing and stunning landscape sceneries of Australia.

The acting is not bad, with the at-the-time-not-discovered Sam Worthington and Michael Vartan.

 Rogue, although thin in terms of storyline/material, it is still an entertaining creature feature. I would recommend this to those who enjoyed Anaconda I and II. If you want something that mixes horror/creates/comedy, then I would recommend: Tremors, Eight Legged Freaks and Lake Placid.

Haywire (2011)

5/10

Meh

Haywire is about  a black ops super soldier seeks payback after she is betrayed and set up during a mission.

ok, plot sounded exciting but the film was far from it. Many parts of Haywire didn't make sense, there was odd use of sound effects, and scenarios were extremely un-captivating .

The genre this film is labelled under are "action" and "thriller, so my expectation going into it was exactly that. I turned on this movie on a friday night, hoping to kick back to something similar to the Bourne films, but rather I received a rather dull movie and a very un-fulfilling performance from the main actress. This film felt more like a drama then thriller.

The main part of this film that captured my attention was the star-studded cast and the idea of a super spy film. I guess I had too high of an expectation going into this film but with a cast of Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, and Channing Tatum, can you blame me?

Haywire tried to hard to be a sophisticated spy film that it forgot to have a good storyline and thrill to go with it.

Female Agents (2008)

5/10

could have been so much better

Plot: In May 1944, a group of French servicewomen and resistance fighters are enlisted into the British Special Operations Executive commando group under the command of Louise Desfontaines and her brother Pierre.

Beginning 10 minutes was really exciting as the story unfolded and characters introduced. But, sadly, after that the movie started to lose its grip. Some of the characters' personalities and mind set did not match their actions. A few character easily scared at one point then turn into Die Hard heroes the next.

The movie feels too rushed and choppy. Everything happens very quickly and we hardly have a chance to get to know the characters.

The lead cast did a good job in trying to capture the emotions but the rushed script made it hard to appreciate the acting.

Female Agents have some very noticeable continuity errors, where injuries and scars vanish into thin air. Also the film could have benefitted from some gore during some scenes.

Overall, mediocre film.

Suspect Zero (2004)

5/10

Great idea destroyed by lack of focus, poor character development,  unnecessary effects and hard to follow plot.

Honestly, I was trying to keep my attention on this film as I thought it would like Se7en. I'm a fan of Aaron Eckhart and Ben Kingsley, but poor guys got sucked into this crappy film.

Like Se7en, Suspect Zero tries to use fillers to show the psychotic break down of the character BUT sadly this film lacked in having a focus that made it everything but epic.

Suspect Zero tries to create suspense with music and artistic shots of drawings/playgrounds/deserted locations/close ups/choppy sequences of flashbacks. This would have worked if the entire film wasn't so filled with these artistic elements and barely any story line. It was like 80% artistic fillers and 20% story.

The character development was odd. At first Fran and Tom (Eckhart) was at each other's throats about some conflict in the past and Fran showing lack of patience with Tom. Then for whatever reason, after Tom gets crazy over the case, the two reconnects in this overdramatic scene. I couldn't connect with this scene because there was no transition between the two characters' relationship with one another. Also the connection between Tom, O'Ryan and the mystery truck drive was confusing. Then again, people would say you could just imagine the gaps, but this film seems to rely on audience imagining most of the gaps.

Aaron Eckhart and Ben Kingley were good, held up the movie despite the flaws.

Average.

Duplex (2003)

5/10

Not so much funny as really frustrating.

I like Ben Stiller as he always gives a good performance. In Duplex, Stiller again gives a well performed roles as a angry owner of a house with terrible a tenant.

This film sadly lacks in comedic element but has high dose of frustration. You would want to root for the couple but somehow they always get the short end of the stick.

This film will allow those with annoying neighbours to see the silver lining of things because if you have neighbours that drives you crazy...you should consider yourself lucky not having to be in Alex (Ben stiller) and Nancy (Drew Barrymore)'s shoes.

Letters To Juliet (2010)

5/10Beautiful landscapes, a sweet story but a bit too cheesy and cliched

Letters to Juliet is about An American girl on vacation in Italy finds an unanswered "letter to Juliet" -- one of thousands of missives left at the fictional lover's Verona courtyard, which are typically answered by a the "secretaries of Juliet" -- and she goes on a quest to find the lovers referenced in the letter.

This film is very sweet with cute characters, however Letters To Juliet is slow paced, a bit too cheesy and cliched even for a romantic flick. This film's storyline came from the same cookie-cutter that formed many other romantic comedies, where the story and ending became apparent the moment the movie started. The characters are all pretty simple and wear their emotions on their sleeves that it became a bit boring to watch. I felt the dialogue, though sweet, is too cheesy and fairytale like.

Don't get me wrong, this movie is quite charming and the locations in ths film are breathtaking. The landscape choice alone is worth giving this film a chance. Sadly, the landscape could not help make this film a stunning one as this movie put too much emphasis on wanting the term 'awwww' to be used that they over did it resulting in a giant 'cheeseball' of a film.

I really wanted to like this film as I adore Amanda Seyfried in Mean Girls and Christopher Egan is awesome from TV series Kings. But the writing just didn't keep my interest level. I came into this movie with expectation of a Nicolas Sparks book/movie, which this movie did achieve but went a bit overboard in wanting to keep it sweet.

I recommend this film to romantic movie lovers who just want a sweet charming film and to those who love seeing the sceneries of Italy. Christopher Egan is definitely great addition to this film. Though, this movie wouldn't be one I'll be watching again

Hanna (2011)

5/10

Action packed but thin storyline.

Hanna is about A 16-year-old who was raised by her father to be the perfect assassin is dispatched on a mission across Europe, tracked by a ruthless intelligence agent and her operatives (imdb).

The acting is not bad, film is action filled, with a simple storyline, rough characters but not too much meat.

There is a ton of action and killing, however, I felt there's little character development. The characters, though they experience some emotional changes, remain very flat. The acting by no means is lessened by the flat characters, as the cast gives a very powerful performance.

The music tends to take a back seat amongst the chase scenes and fights. But if you pay close attention, the music is quite nice to listen to.

The entire film felt like it was leading up to a big finish, only it never comes. Hanna seems to revolve around an old grudge that is passed down. The necessity of having to take revenge the grudge wasn't clearly establish that I felt the entire hunt was overrated. All the actions in this film will definitely satisfy an action lover but the story lacks in material.

The cinematography, editing and directing doesn't jump out at me. Overall, an entertaining movie but wasn't memorable and not very captivating.

Paul (2011)

 5/10 interesting, fun but not a masterpiece

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost teams up again to bring Paul but this film did not have the same comedy quality as Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. I was a bit disappointed with Paul actually and found it to be a bit crude and dragging.

Paul is lingered with some comedic elements but is definitely not high brow comedy. The jokes are very on the surface and at times vulgar that a PG 13 audience may find offensive. Paul does make many sci-fi references and creates much joke around it.The jokes scratched the surface but failed to really make the film memorable.

I didn't enjoy Paul as much as I enjoyed Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead. I felt Paul didn't have the thrilling, suspenseful, dark comedy elements that the other two had.

I recommend this to those who love sci-fi and all things comic/nerd otherwise skip it and watch Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead.

Sleuth (2007)

5/10

Strong cast but mediocre remake
Sleuth is about an aging writer on his sprawling country estate, matches wits with the struggling actor who has stolen his wife's heart.

Sleuth is a remake of the 1972 movie Sleuth, which was adopted from the play Sleuth by Anthony Shaffer.

The original play, cast and cinematography of this 2007 film captured my attention but the remake just did not succeed as its predecessor.

I read the synopsis of the play that the 1972 Sleuth was based on and realized that the 2007 version left a lot of the vital story out. The 1972 Sleuth had a much more complicated and detailed cat and mouse game between Tindle and Wyke, where they each try to out do the other again and again. It focused on the 'game' element.

On the other hand, the 2007 version to some extent attempted to do the same, but seemed to have given up half way through. However, the 2007 remake left much of the storyline and the 'games' out. The newer version does have some neat cinematography and two incredible actors, but the lack of the original storyline made the film a flop. I would have prefered the newest version of Sleuth to stick closer to the original plot instead of leaving so much out. ---The play won the Tony Award for Best Play for a reason.

The interesting bit that I found was that Michael Caine, who played Wyke in the 2007 remake was Tiddle in the 1972 version. So if you watch both Sleuth back to back you can see the transition in Caine's performance as Wyke and Tiddle.

The Lazarus Project (2008)

5/10

Slow but builds up towards the end

The Lazarus Project is about a former criminal is drawn into a criminal endeavor and subsequently finds himself living an inexplicable new life working at a psychiatric facility.(imdb)

The storyline feels similar to Shutter Island, except this is not apparent until the later half of the movie but before you can state the similarities The Lazarus Project takes a turn. The movie is fairly slow but despite the slow pace the movie kept me intrigued.

The strong dialogue and multiple use of canted camera angle makes this film fairly interesting and engrossing. Together these elements create a suspenseful and mysterious atmosphere.

Give this movie a shot, plow through the slow bits and you may find yourself liking this film.

Dead Again (1991)

5/10

Great use of flashbacks, music and mystery...but wasn't greatly appealing.

Interesting idea, but could have been done so much better. By going back and forth between a previous life and the present life, Dead Again is about how Grace and Mike tries to solve a murder that happened in the past but as the mystery unravels, they become entangled in the mess.

The acting is mediocre, but believable. This is the first time I have ever seen a performance by Kenneth Branagh, it wasn't the best performance but it was suffice for the movie.

The use of music in Dead Again is quite well handled. In one scene the downstairs neighbour of Mike is practicing piano scales. Grace and Mike during this practicing of the scales got into a struggle. The scales started off as diegetic music but as the struggle scene began we realize that the music became non-diegetic as it was setting the mood for the scene. The piano scales reflected Mike's emotions from slow-and-understanding to fast-and-furious. Well use of music.
The sequence I am talking about starting at 5:30min:


The film goes through phrases of boringly slow to intriguingly action packed. If you like mystery/romance/flashbacks/use of music...and enjoy a slower film (with bits of action-packed sequences) but full of mystery then definitely check this film out.